(The well had run dry, no blood from a turnip -- all those sayings applied!) With just a few precious weeks left in the school year, what do you do to keep the kids energized and on board with learning? One thing I knew for sure when it came to my high school students: They had to feel as if they weren't actually doing work. (Yep, I had to trick them.) And whatever you do plan, especially for secondary students, three elements are essential: choices, creativity, and constructing. Consider these projects (and I've included the cognitive demands): 1.
A Project-Based Learning Cheat Sheet For Authentic Learning. A Project-Based Learning Cheat Sheet by TeachThought Staff Like most buzzwords in education, “authenticity” isn’t a new idea.

For decades, teachers have sought to make student learning “authentic” by looking to the “real world”–the challenges, technology, and communities that students care about and connect with daily. You’ve probably been encouraged in the past to design work that “leaves the classroom.” Reach beyond the school walls. We’re going to take a closer look at progressive approaches to teacher planning whenever Terry Heick can be convinced to finish that series. The function of this image is to act as a kind of brainstorm–to help you get your own creative juices going to decide what’s most important when designing an authentic project-based learning unit–audiences, technology, habits, purposes, and so on.

You obviously don’t even have to use these categories; they are just a sampling of the kinds of thinking that can help you make the shift from academic to authentic learning.
Project-based learning moves into classrooms. Project-based learning is gaining support in education circles Students at The Ellis School use the Hummingbird Robotics Kit to explore STEM.

When it comes to classrooms today, students want more than the lectures and quiet classrooms of the past. They want technology to use as learning tools, they want to collaborate, and they want to work on projects that are relevant to their learning and the real world.
How to use Google tools in Project-Based Learning. When you think about some of the key features of Project-Based Learning (PBL), what do you think of?

PBL should be student-driven, with a real-world connection. It should be core to learning, include structured collaboration, and have a multifaceted assessment. Giving students a real problem to solve, getting them engaged in their work, having them work with others, and assessing their work with more than just a grade sounds a lot like how many things in the ‘real world’ work, doesn’t it?

After all, aren’t we trying to prepare students for the world after school?
Cómo construir Rúbricas o Matrices de Valoración. What's Next for PBL?
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Reinventing Project-Based Learning, 2nd Edition, by Suzie Boss and Jane Krauss.

The revised and expanded edition was just published by ISTE. As part of Connected Educator Month, the co-authors are hosting an online Reinventing PBL Book Club. (Join the conversation here.) We don't have a crystal ball, but there's ample evidence to suggest that we're at a PBL inflection point.
Getting Started with Project-Based Learning (Hint: Don't Go Crazy)
Andrew Miller, Educational Consultant and Online Educator AUGUST 6, 2012 www.edutopia.org Before the start of the school year, many of us want to use the remaining weeks of summer to learn some new skills — such as project-based learning (PBL).

One of the things we stress for new PBL practitioners is, as I say, "don't go crazy.
" It's easy to go "too big" when you first start PBL. I have heard from many teachers new to PBL that a large, eight-week integrated project was a mistake. So how do you start PBL in ways that will ensure your success as a learner and teacher?
What Project-Based Learning Is — and What It Isn’t. Screenshot/High Tech High The term “project-based learning” gets tossed around a lot in discussions about how to connect students to what they’re learning.

Teachers might add projects meant to illustrate what students have learned, but may not realize what they’re doing is actually called “project-oriented learning.” And it’s quite different from project-based learning, according to eighth grade Humanities teacher Azul Terronez.
Project-Based Learning from Start to Finish. Via Edutopia For this installment of Schools That Work, we chose Manor New Technology High School, a public high school that is part of the New Tech Network of schools.

Located just outside of Austin in Manor, Texas, it is an entirely project-based learning school that has consistently achieved outstanding results since opening. We followed a project there for three weeks to find out what makes their model so effective.
PBL Course Development: Collaboration Among Colleagues. Author Jayesh Rao collaborates with his AP Biology design team.

Photo credit: Bill Palmer At Sammamish High School, we're developing and implementing a comprehensive problem-based learning program for all of our students. Working closely with my peers during this process has become one of the highlights of my career as an educator.
Project Based Learning. Ten Things I've Learned in Going Project-Based. It's a few days before Christmas and I expect a challenge.

Students will be checked-out or hyper. However, to my surprise, they are fully engaged in a project that combines reading, writing, global awareness and critical thinking. I've mentioned before that this year has been challenging. However, I am realizing that my students excel when I approach a subject with a project-based framework.
Explore - DIY. How to Reinvent Project Based Learning to Be More Meaningful. By Thom Markham This is a crucial time for education.

Every system in every country is in the process of figuring out how to reboot education to teach skills, application, and attitude in addition to recall and understanding. Helping students be able to grapple with increased problem solving and inquiry, be better critical and creative thinkers, show greater independence and engagement, and exhibit skills as presenters and collaborators is the challenge of the moment. That’s why so many educators are using the project based learning (PBL) model. PBL has proven to be a means for setting up the kind of problem-solving challenges that engage students in deeper learning and critical inquiry.